About collections

Celebrating the Mitchell Library 2001 to 2010

Each year in the decade leading up to the Mitchell Library Centenary we have showcased areas of strength of the State Library’s magnificent collections. Chosen from material held in the Mitchell and Dixson Libraries, each exhibition reflects the great wealth and range of the Library’s holdings.

	2009 - Charles Darwin Down Under 1836 Charles Darwin's most famous book On the origin of species by means of natural selection (1859) changed the world. The observations he recorded over five years as the naturalist on the HMS Beagle, and his subsequent work on the natural history collections he collected, led to his formulation of his theory of natural selection. The Library's unrivalled collection of original pictures, manuscripts and books document Darwin's time in Australia. Visit Charles Darwin Down Under exhibition
	2008 - Children's literature The Magic Pudding: Watercolours by Norman Lindsay exhibition celebrates the Library's extensive collection of children's literature which includes original illustrations, literary manuscripts and first editions.
	2007 - Bequests and Philanthropy 2007 marked the centenary of the greatest single cultural bequest to the Australian nation. On his death in July 1907, David Scott Mitchell, an avid collector of Australiana, left to the Australian people his extraordinary collections of books, documents, maps and pictures. His generosity and foresight, along with other great Library benefactors, such as Sir William Dixson and Jean Garling, will be celebrated in 2007.
	2006 - Terra Australis unveiled The Mitchell and Dixson Libraries contain many treasures relating to the early Portuguese, Spanish and Dutch explorers — Pedro Fernandez de Quiros, Don Diego de Prado y Tovar and Abel Janszoon Tasman. These collections will provide a focus for the year's celebrations.
	2005 - Photography in Australia The State Library of New South Wales holds a world-class collection of over one million Australian photographs, depicting all facets of life in New South Wales. This collection is featured in the major exhibition Eye 4 Photography and the associated publication An Eye for Photography.
	2004 - Literature 2004 is the 50th anniversary of the death of passionate Australian and acclaimed writer, Miles Franklin. The Library holds an extensive archive of her personal and literary papers. Australian literature is the focus of this year's celebrations.
	2003 - Sport In 2003, the State Library celebrates its historic and contemporary sporting collection with an exhibition and collecting drive.
	2002 - Antarctica Antarctica 2002 is the second part of a 10-year program highlighting significant aspects of the Library's collections.
	2001 - Matthew Flinders In 2001, the Library's unrivalled holdings of Matthew Flinders manuscripts, pictures, maps and realia have been celebrated, and continue to be feted in a national tour of the State Library's acclaimed Matthew Flinders: the ultimate journey exhibition.